I am grateful to Michael Ditchfield of Kings Chambers for his sending me details of a recent appeal where the Circuit Judge overturned a decision where, initially, relief from sanctions had been granted. This emphasises the point that, although the…

I am picking up on a point in Kerry Underwood’s article on Rules of Survival. In that article he emphasised the need for a client to “pass a test” of being able to be “Mitchell compliant” before the client is…

The case of McTear -v- Englehard [2014] EWHC 722 (Ch) was looked at briefly in an earlier post in relation to the number of cases cited to the Court. Here we look at the substantive decision in relation to applications…

A case reported on Lawtel this morning demonstrates the dangers of referring to legal advice in witness statements. The decision of Males J in Mid-East Sales -v- Engineering & Trading Co [2014] EWHC 892 (Comm) was made on 14/03/2004. THE…

There have been several posts about the proper preparation and collation of trial bundles. An interesting comment from HHJ Behrens in the case of Burnard -v- Burnard [2014] EWHC 340 (Ch) indicates that, bundles remain far from perfect. BURNARD Judgment…

In civil proceedings witnesses are commonly present throughout the entire action. On occasions a request is made that witnesses be excluded. There is little authority for the proposition that a court can exclude witnesses or guidance as to how the…

The case of Chartwell Estate Agents Ltd -v- Fergies Properties Ltd [2014] EWHC 438 (QB) has been dealt with in an earlier post. At that stage a Lawtel summary of the case was available. The full transcript is now released. CHARTWELL:…

The case of Chartwell Estate Agents –v- Fergies Properties Ltd (QBD Globe J 18/02/2014) is reported in brief on Lawtel this morning. It is an example of the court granting relief from sanctions following late service of witness statements. This…

The decision in Lloyd that it was not open to the parties to agree to extend time can cause a problem in relation to cases where service of documents has taken place late by agreement. This was a common occurrence…

I am grateful to Dave Toulson of Hill Dickinson for a more detailed explanation of the news that prompted the article on drafting witness statements and proving damages. The original tweet was that a claim for hire had been struck…

The previous post dealt with the importance of witness statements in proving heads of loss. An example was given of a failure to prove loss of earnings through inadequate evidence. LOSS OF EARNINGS ON MY OTHER BLOG I maintain…

The genesis of this article is a tweet earlier today where a solicitor reported that a claim for the cost of hire and storage had been struck out because the witness statement was deficient. “C entire hire, storage & recovery…

The earlier post on extensions of time gained a lot of attention and numerous issues were raised at twitter. This is such a fast moving area that a case, reported yesterday, deals with some of the issues raised. I wanted…

Earlier posts on witness statements have dealt with the manner of drafting and presentation. However one overlooked aspect is the way that witnesses are questioned. The questions asked, and the way questions are asked, will determine the evidence that goes…

The earlier post on trial bundles received several comments. It is clearly a matter of interest, and some controversy. Legal Orange has written a post on Trial Bundles from the point of view of a litigator. LEGAL ORANGE The post…

The earlier post on witness statements had a large number of hits. That post set out the basic techniques when drafting witness statements. However it just as important is that you ensure that the statements you draft comply with the…

The skill and effort involved in drafting a proper and appropriate witness statement are often overlooked. Mistakes are often made. Witness statements are either to cursory and brief; too opinionated and argumentative or over-elaborate and lacking credibility. Curiously enough most…

One little noticed part of the Jackson reforms was the introduction of a new to CPR 32.2 (3) which gives the court express powers to identify or limit the number of witnesses a party may call. That power has now…

There have been several posts about drafting witness statements on this blog. Here I am referring readers to comments made by Richard Moorhead in his blog “Lawyer Watch”. The first refers to a case where the solicitor for a party…

KARBHARI -v- AHMED http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/QB/2013/4042.html 2013] EWHC 4042 (QB) This was a High Court case listed for seven days. On the first day of the trial the defendant’s counsel indicated that it would be necessary to amend the Defence and introduce a supplementary…